TURKEYS 187 



and was accordingly presented with a pair. The use of wild blood 

 to give greater vigor to domestic stock continues, though it gives 

 no better results now than the use of vigorous Bronze Turkeys 

 many generations removed from wild ancestry. 



Influence of the Bronze Turkey on other varieties. Although 

 White turkeys have long been very popular in some parts of 

 Europe, in this country they were, until recently, considered 

 too weak to be desirable for any but those who kept them as a 

 hobby. By chance mixtures of Bronze and White turkeys, and 

 in some instances by systematic breeding, white turkeys that 

 were large and vigorous were produced. Some of these were 

 large enough to be called mammoths, as the largest Bronze 

 Turkeys were. A few breeders who had these big white turkeys 

 advertised them as Mammoth White Turkeys produced by Mam- 

 moth Bronze Turkeys as sports and in no way related to the 

 old, weakly white birds. But whatever may have been the case at 

 the outset, in a few years the Mammoth Whites were so mixed 

 with others that the distinction was lost, for the best buyers of 

 superior white turkeys were those who liked the color and had 

 inferior stock which they wished to improve. All white turkeys 

 in America now go by the old name, " White Holland Turkeys." 



Yellow or buff turkeys were often seen among the old com- 

 mon turkeys. They were usually small and very poor in color. 

 The mixture of bronze turkeys with these birds occasionally 

 produced larger birds of a darker, more reddish buff but very 

 uneven in color, with the tail and wings nearly white. From 

 such birds, by careful breeding, a dark red race with white 

 wings and tail was made. This variety is called the Bourbon 

 Red, from Bourbon County, Kentucky, where it originated. 



Other varieties of the turkey. The only other variety worthy 

 of mention here is the Slate Turkey. Birds of this color are 

 often seen in mixed flocks. Some of very good size and color 

 have been bred for exhibition, and the Slate Turkey in America 

 is classed as a distinct variety. 



